A well-known actor appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to urge viewers to prioritise their health

BBC Breakfast guest warns viewers over ‘high risk’ in passionate message

BBC Breakfast guest Colin McFarlane made a heartfelt appeal to viewers on Saturday, 29th November, following a contentious position taken by the NHS.

This week, the National Screening Committee (NSC), comprised of doctors and economists, cautioned the government that mass screenings for prostate cancer are “likely to cause more harm than good”.

High-profile figures such as Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Stephen Fry, both diagnosed with the disease, have voiced their opposition to the recommendation.

Outlander star McFarlane, who revealed his own diagnosis in 2023, appeared on the BBC show this weekend to share his fervent advice for men with health worries.

Joined by Chiara De Biase from Prostate Cancer UK, they emphasised that Black men are particularly vulnerable to the disease, with one in four being diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, reports the Express.

BBC Breakfast star issues plea to viewers over ‘high risk’(BBC)

Addressing the camera, McFarlane urged: “Any Black men listening to this, and you’re between the age of 45 and 74, get hold of Prostate Cancer UK and go on their Transform programme to get this evidence that they say they’re missing. Because that’s really important.”

De Biase concurred and added: “We are really disappointed about this. This has been three years in the making and we’re actually the only organisation to submit the scientific evidence, because we think it was safe enough.”

BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty, alongside co-presenter Charlie Stayt, asked whether a “lack of confidence or education” was stopping men from getting screened.

McFarlane confirmed this could be the case, explaining: “I think if you’re looking at high risk Black men, there’s a lack of confidence with the NHS, because there’s decades of mistrust with the establishment.”

Actor Colin McFarlane issued a passionate plea to BBC viewers(Image: BBC)

He drew parallels with the Windrush scandal, which the actor also campaigns about, citing the “injustice that happened over decades”.

“There’s a suspicion,” McFarlane continued. “In the Black community they literally say, ‘If you go into hospital you never come out again’. Literally, people say that and you go, ‘No!’ We’ve got to change that attitude.”

Despite this mistrust within the community, McFarlane highlighted that Black men face “double the risk” of developing prostate cancer.

He recalled meeting a businessman on a train on Friday evening, who told him he’d attempted to get a PSA test three times but was refused each time.

McFarlane and Chiara De Biase speak to Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty(Image: BBC)

“So, please,” McFarlane urged, addressing the camera directly. “GPs out there, for those of you who don’t know about this, when a man is brave enough to come into your surgery, please don’t turn him away!

“Please don’t say, ‘You’ve got no pain, you’ve got no symptoms, we don’t need to test you’. Because I have no pain, I have no symptoms, but I do have prostate cancer.

“If you wait for pain and symptoms, it spreads.”

For more information or to make a donation, please visit prostatecanceruk.org.